Pneumatic operating means for railway dump cars



March 4, 1952 E. o. LUNDE 2,588,133

PNEUMATIC OPERATING MEANS FOR RAILWAY DUMP CARS Filed Dec. 28, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet l Q 1% 1 0702- 0 [ax/20'? 14 550.2 way E. o. LUNDE March 4, 1952 PNEUMATIC OPERATING MEANS FOR RAILWAY DUMP CARS 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Dec.

[6 fesrl ozk-j'? i4 ztw wey March 4, 1952 E. o. LUNDE 2,588,133

PNEUMATIC OPERATING MEANS FOR RAILWAY DUMP CARS Filed Dec. 28, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 [in/ezzfoi' Z2224 0. [2070 6 aozwey Patented Mar. 4, 1952 UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE PNEUMATIC OPERATING MEANS FOR "RAILWAY DUMPCARS Einar onLunda'wyckofi, N.'J., assign'or-to Magor -Gar Corporatiom'New York,-N. 'Y., acorporation of Delaware Application December 28. 1948,"Serial-P10562631 :11 Claims. .1 This invention-relates tor-pneumatic :operating means for dump'cars.

The improved means according :-to"'the present invention is adapted for use "with" t-railw'a'y a'dump *cars which comprise wheel supported frames to which the bodies are supported on trunnio'ns'at difierent "points along :th'e framesef the cars a dump car having :the hody supporting Ztrun- *nions disposed at each side .sz'of ithetcar and the operating means vare so disposed as to -:efiect swinging movement of the lcar body. about'the trunnions at one or 'the o'ther side of the :car whereby the load transported bythe ca'rmay be dumped to one 'o'r the 'other side thereof.

A primary obj ect of the invention is to provide manually controlled =pneum'atic operating means for the swinging bodies of idump carsiand such means providing for thes\7iingin"g 'oi the 'b'odies to one side orthe other as' well as theirz return to normal load transporting positions.

A further object of the inventionis to provide improved valve mechanismsfor controlling the flow of air to and from-operating cylinders which have connection with the fpivotally supported body adjacent each sidethereo'f.

A s'till'further ob'ject 'o'f 'theinv'ention is *to provide a valve and manual va1v'e co'ntrol means at each side of the car-body and such -m'eans being so arranged that when one si'de of the car has :been operated to open its associated valve mech- 'anism, same blocks a like operation ofthe control means 'at"the other side f the car'whereby the valves cannot b'esimultaneously set for dumpingof the car body toward both sides tl'rereof.

'Other objects :and advantages .of the "invention will become 'apuarent in' the coursenfrthe :tollow- "ing detailed descriptiom takenfin connectioniwith iserved' from the :end-of the fcarQo'rLfr'om thedeft 'end ofiFig. l and showing 13in particular the zone]:- ating rod :latch means.

Fig. 2-.A :iS an enlarged verticalfisection in the plane oi -line :z-j-A iahsonk-Fi i=2.

Fig.3 is-aase'ctional view 'ofone of the cylinder icontrol 'valves, the :section being taken in \the .."Fig; 4 Ia sectional view of-the valve in "the :plane of line I- I of Fig. 3.

Fig-5 is a 'further sectional view of the valve in'the'planeof'line "5-5 on Fig. '4.

'6 is abroken transverse "sectionalv'iew of ":a' dump car showingone of the operating cylinders operatively connected'therewith.

'Fig. 7 is a similar view showing'th'e body of the dump car in dumping position.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and first to Figs. 1, 2"and '2-A thereof wherein is shown "the "various "operating elements which are "end of the-car'and provided with the usual hose This charging line ob- From the connections at its ends. tains 'its air from the locomotive.

:ch'arg'ing line lllth'e air passes through a'branch line l l,through a cut-out valve [2, a check valve 13, and thence into an air reservoir I 4.

'From the'rese'rvoir "the air passes through a line l5; an automatic cut-'ofivalve 16, 'line 11,

line 'IR- 'and thence into "the controlvalves I9 and l 9'. The valve 19 communicates with "a line'Zll "'which'in turn communicates with-aline 2| which has its opposite ends communication "with a pair -of car-"body operating cylinders 22 which are disposed at one side of a car fore'fiecting dumpin of the 'bodythereof toward the other side of the fear.

"The valve 1 9' is 'in communicat on with "a "pair 'o'f'ca'r body operating cylinders 22' at the opposite sid'eo'f the carthrough 1in'es20 and 21 and the cylinders 22' are operative to dump -the 'car body toward the side of the car at which the :cylinders 22 are disposed.

The control valves l9 and I9 areselectively operable :by links "23 and 23" respectively which have *corresponding ends thereof pivotally connected to levers 58 (Fig-4) "of the 'valves'and their opposite ends 'pivotally connected with corresponding "arms'of bell cranks 24;24.

The bell cranks 24, 2G have their other arms pivotally connected with manually operable ipush-pull rods 25 and 25' which are suitably supported at the :end of the car' frame as by :means: of brackets 22%, 26. The TIOdS T25, r25's'are provided with operating ihandles 2 l and'ethein- :ner zortadj acent ends of the rods .ares'lidablya'dis- {posed in a "sleeve-28. suitably supported by the =car frame as by means of the center f-rameem'em- -with a similar opening in the gasket 33.

33 above the opening 39 in section 3|. is the intake from the reservoir I4. The valve points longitudinally of the frame. The car body C is provided with side downwardly swinging doors D which automatically open during dumping of the car body as shown in Fig. 7. The operating cylinders 22, 22' are disposed intermediate the spaced trunnion T and accordingly a trunnion is shown in Figs. 6 and 7 at one side only of the car. Such trunnions are, however, disposed at both sides of the car and a pair of cylinders 22, 22 'is disposed at each side of the car as is indicated in Fig. 1. Each cylinder 22, 22' is associated with the car as indicated in Figs. 6

Q and. 7 and wherein the cylinder 22 is pivotally supported by the car frame as at 22", and the. piston 22 is provided with a rod 22 having its end pivotally connected at 22 to the car body C.

According to Fig. 7 the valve H! has been opened and the two cylinders 22 have become operative to dump the car body to the side opposite such cylinder; upon opening of the other valve |9' the corresponding cylinders 22 will become operative to dump the car body toward the side provided with the cylinders 22.

While the present invention is generally concerned with the entire pneumatic control means as shown in Fig. 1, it is particularly concerned with the specific valve construction l9 or l9 and reference will now be had to Figs. 3, 4 and 5 for a complete description of the valve.

The improved valve construction comprises a pair of sections 30 and 3| which are secured together by screws 32 and a gasket 33 is disposed between adjacent faces of such sections and which gaskets provide seats for valves later referred to. The section 30 is provided with a threaded aperture 34 for connection of line H) to the reservoir and the section provides a chamber 35 adjacent the aperture, and a second chamber 36 communicating through an opening 31 with a chamber 38 intermediate the chambers 35 and 36.

The section 3| is provided with an opening 39 alined with a corresponding opening in the gasket 33 and the section 3| is provided with a chamber 40 with which opening 39 communicates as well as do also a threaded aperture 4| for connection with line 20 to the dump cylinders and an opening 43 which also communicates with chamber 38 and a web 42 is disposed in the chamber 40.

The section 3| is provided with a second chamber 44 and an opening 45 disposed in alinement The section is further provided with a threaded aperture 46 communicating with chamber 44 and which is adapted for connection with line IE! or |9 (Fig, 1) which opens to the atmosphere.

A hollow valve stem 41 is reciprocally disposed in section 38 and is surrounded by stem packing 48 and the stem is provided with a valve 49 cooperating with the valve seat provided by gasket This valve 49 is normally biased to closed position by means of a coil spring 50 which is disposed in the hollow 4 stem 41 with one end thereof bearing on valve 49 and the other end bearing on a retainer cap 5| which is secured to the section 38 by screws 52 and which cap also serves to retain the packing 48 in position.

The exhaust valve is provided in the valve construction and same includes a hollow valve stem 53 reciprocally supported in section 30 and stem packing 54 surrounds the stem, the packing being retained in position by means of a cap plate 55 which is secured to section 30 by screws 56.

The stem 53 is provided at one end thereof with avalve 51 for cooperation with the gasket 33 above the opening 45 and chamber 44.

The valve stems 41 and 53 protrude from the section 30 and the protruding ends are bifurcated as shown in Fig. 4. A lever 58 is disposed in the bifurcated valve stem ends and is pivotally connected at one end thereof as at 58' to the link 23 and'the lever is pivotally connected to the stems 41 and 53 as at 59 and 60 respectively.

Having set forth in detail the preferred cooperating structural elements entering into the present invention, the operation thereof is as follows:

The various cooperating elements are shown in Figs. 1 to 6 in their normal position, or the position which they retain while a car is in transit. In this normal position, the operating rods 25, 25' are in their outermost positions as is more clearly indicated in solid lines in Fig. 2 and the inlet valve 49 is closed and the exhaust valve 51 is open as is indicated in Fig. 4.

When it is desired to dump the car to either side thereof, either handle 21' is pushed inward to the dotted line position as indicated in Fig. 2, the car being dumped toward the side opposite to that of the handle pushed.

For purposes of explanation, it will be assumed that the rod 25 is pushed inwardly, the bell crank 24 will be turned to the dotted line position and the link 23' pulled forwardly in Fig. 1 or upwardly in Fig. 4.

The lever 58 will be moved counter clockwise about pivot 59 and will move the exhaust valve 57 to closed position. This closing of the exhaust valve without outward movement of pivot 59 is due to the heavy air pressure on the inlet valve 49 augmented by the coil spring 50.

When the exhaust valve has become seated. the pivot 60 will become the fulcrum for lever 58 and which will then upon further counter clockwise movement, open the inlet valve 49, and permitting air to flow from the reservoir |4 into the cylinders 22.

It is to be noted at this point that due to the exhaust valve closing prior to opening of the inlet valve, no air is lost in the operation. The air upon entering cylinders 22 will move the pistons 22 upwardly as in Fig. 7 and the car will be dumped as indicated therein. The automatic cut-off valve I6 is provided with an arm I6 which is engaged by the car body at a point near its end of travel in being dumped in order to shut off the air to the cylinders and the air is again restored at the same point in the restoration movement of the body. The car having thus been dumped it is restored to its normal position by pulling the handle 21 outwardly to its solid line position whereupon the link 23 will be moved in the opposite direction or downwardly in Fig. 4, Whereupon the inlet valve 49 will close due to the forces acting on the exhaust valve at this time and retaining it on its seat. When the inlet valve becomes seated, the pivot 59 will become the fulcrumzfonilever 58 .and the exhaust valveswilltbe opened. It "is to be .noted :that since the inlet valve closesipriorito-opening o'fthe exhaust valve, noiair, is lost in :this operation.

A cushioning effect may be provided in the return of the car body to itscnormal position by theprovision of a suitable choke in the exhaust line l9 or I9 The structure includes .asafety mechanism whereby when either handle 21' has been pushedinwardlyitoza'dmit air ito the cylin-' ders/ 22 or 22' the other .handle can not .belikewiseeoperated and such mechanism comprises an elongated sleeve 28 into which adjacent ends of .rods25 and 25' extend andthe vdistancebetween such ends in the sleeve when the handles 2'! are in normal position is equal to the operating stroke of either rod whereby upon inward movement of either rod to a position to admit air to its corresponding cylinders it will contact the other rod. However, the abutment of the end of one rod with the adjacent end of the other rod will preclude operation of the other rod only if the first or operated rod be latched against reverse movement and provision is made for such by forming each rod 25, 25' with a stop lug 25 The brackets 26, 26' are provided with vertical slots 26 of a depth equal at least to the combined vertical depth of the rod and lug as is indicated in Fig. 2-A.

In the normal position of the operating rods as is indicated with respect to rod 25' in .solid lines in Fig. 2, the stop lugs are disposed adjacent to but outwardly of the brackets and in which position the stop lugs preclude straight movement of the rods to their operative position as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2. Thus when it is desired to operate either valve its associated rod 25 or 25' must be raised at its outer end such that the stop lug will pass through the bracket slot 26 and after having passed through, the operating rod will fall of its own weight with the stop lug on the inner side of the bracket as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2. Thus it will be seen that if rod 25' be pushed to its operative position indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2 its inner end will contact the adjacent end of rod 25 and this rod 25 can not be pushed in to operate its valve since the stop lug 25 on rod 25 will contact the inner side of bracket 26 and thereby slack the movement of rod 25.

While I have disclosed my invention in accordance with a single specific embodiment thereof, such is to be considered as illustrative only, and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined in the sub-joined claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. Pneumatic operating mechanism for a dump car including a body pivotally supported on a frame; comprising a cylinder pivotally supported by the frame, a piston in the cylinder and having a rod pivotally connected to the body in laterally spaced relation to the pivotal support for the body, a source of air under pressure, a control valve mechanism disposed between the cylinder and the air source and having inlet and exhaust valves, a lever having pivotal connections with the individual valves, and manually operable means for actuating the lever for alternately closing the exhaust valve and opening the inlet valve for supplying air to the cylinder and closing the inlet valve and opening the exhaust valve to exhaust air from the cylinder.

2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein said manually operable means comprises a link having one end pivotally connected to the lever,

...-a, :bellucrankuhaving :one arm i'thereof pivotally lrconnected to the other end of "the link, arrectilinearly movable rod pivotallylconnectedio the other arm ofulthe .bell crank, and a handle on the :rod.

3." The structure according to claim lrwherein said valves are provided with "spaced parallel bi- 'furcated stems, and-:said lever being disposed in the bifurcation of said stems v andlbeingipivotally connected thereto.

.4. A pneumatic operating and control *system for .a railway car including a wheel supported frame and a. body pivotally supported thereon for dumping'movement about said pivotal support to one side or 'the other of the car; comprising a pneumatic cylinder at each side of the frame and pivotally connected thereto, a piston in the cylinder having a rod pivotally connected to the body, an air reservoir, a control valve mechanism for each cylinder, air conduit connections between each valve mechanism, its associated cylinder, and the reservoir, and an exhaust conduit connection with each valve mechanism, each valve mechanism including an intake valve and an exhaust valve, alternately operable to admit air to and exhaust air from its associated cylinder, the said valves having parallel spaced stems, a lever pivotally connected to each of the stems, and a manually operable push rod operatively connected to each lever for rocking same to efiect movement of said valves.

5. The structure according to claim 4 together with a cut-off valve in the conduit connection of each valve mechanism with the reservoir, for automatically closing the conduit connection when the car body approaches its dumped position.

6. The structure according to claim 4 wherein the push rods are alined and have their adjacent ends disposed in a sleeve, with said ends spaced a distance apart equal to the distance of movement of either rod in actuating said lever.

'7. The structure according to claim 4 wherein the operative connection between each push rod and its associated lever comprises a link having one end thereof pivotally connected to the lever, a bell crank having one arm thereof pivotally connected to the other end of the link, and the other arm of the bell crank being pivotally connected to the push rod.

8. In a railway dump car operating mechanism including a pneumatic cylinder having a piston operatively connected to the body of the car, and an air reservoir for supplying air to said cylinder, a control valve structure having a conduit connection with the cylinder, a conduit connection with the reservoir, and a conduit to atmosphere, said valve structure comprising an inlet valve normally closed and controlling the passage of air from the reservoir to the cylinder, an exhaust valve normally open and permitting escape of air from the cylinder to atmosphere, said valves having spaced parallel stems, a lever having pivotal connections with the stems, and manually operable means connected with the lever.

9. The structure according to claim 8 wherein said valve stems are of tubular form, the inlet valve closing one end of its tubular stem, a retainer in spaced relation to said inlet valve and through which its stem extends, and a coil spring in the tubular stem having its opposite ends engaging the intake valve and the retainer.

10. The structure according to claim 8 wherein said valve structure comprises a pair of superposed sections having aligned openings, a gasket disposed between said sections and having openings aligned with said first opening and providing seats for said valves.

11. In a railway dump car having an operating cylinder on each side thereof and connections from each cylinder to the car body for dumping same toward the other cylinder, a control valve for each cylinder, a valve control rod for each valve slidably disposed on the car and having an operating handle accessible from the corresponding side of the car, the rods being axially aligned and havingtheir adjacent ends disposed in a guide sleeve whereby either rod upon being pushed inwardly will have its end contact the adjacent end of the other rod, and latch means associated with each rod for preventing movement of either rod when the other thereof has been moved to valve operating position.

EINAR O. LUNDE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

